Neck and Upper Back Pain

Trinity was stopped at a light when her car was hit from behind hard. Prior to this accident she had chronic neck and upper back pain which had been keeping her from restorative sleep for about 20 years. These symptoms were much worse after the accident. Unable to turn her head to look over her shoulder, she also had some new poorly defined numbness in her hands. Her neurological exam had some concerning findings so I ordered an MRI which thankfully was completely normal. We decided that weekly OMT with some acupuncture and massage added in occasionally would be the optimal treatment plan for Trinity. Nine months later her chronic issues, including her sleep, were better than they had been in 20 years. I saw her a few years later and she was happy to report that “her chronic pain was still better since her treatments”.

Neal woke up one morning unable to turn his head to the left without intense pain. He was also having burning pain throughout his right shoulder girdle. Neal came to see me a few weeks later when it didn’t resolve. He lied down on my table while I gently cradled his head with my hands, he immediately noticed some relief. Over the next few days he gradually felt 90% better. I saw him a few more times to address some flattening in the curvature in his upper back to hopefully keep this from happening again.

Chris was involved in a 6 car pile-up on I-84 during a snow storm and was life flighted to OHSU. Luckily they found no fractures or injuries to his internal organs. However, he was experiencing a lot of pain especially in his low back. By the time that he came to see me 6 months after the accident he was taking handfuls of narcotics just to make it through the day. Most of his low back pain resolved after 9 months of weekly and then bi-weekly treatment.

Over the years he came in a few times when his back would hurt after putting up fencing or lifting too much. It would take a few weekly sessions to get Chris back to feeling normal. I last spoke to him early this year. Chris reported he has not had any symptoms for 5 years but was calling for a friend who recently hurt his back.